Rural Practice Change

Understanding and predicting adoption of new practices by farmers and other rural landholders.

Rural Practice Change provides insights and lessons from research into adoption of new practices by farmers and other rural landholders. It provides freely available materials for professional development and information about events and publications involving a national team of Australian experts working in this field.

  • ADOPT: A tool for exploring and predicting the level and speed of adoption of new agricultural practices. The tool is available for free and has been downloaded by over 1000 users. A new online version has been released in 2018.

  • Paper about ADOPT: An open access paper at Agricultural Systems, this has been downloaded over 10,000 times since it was published in late 2017.

  • Book, 2011: A book called Changing Land Management: Adoption of New Practices by Rural Landholders was published on 1 March 2011.

  • Review paper, 2006: A major review paper was published on adoption of conservation practices by rural landholders. This paper was the impetus to establish this multi-disciplinary, multi-state alliance.

  • Symposiums: A set of video recordings of all presentations made at the Melbourne Symposium held at the University of Melbourne, and a subsequent Perth Symposium on 8th July, 2009 held at the University of Western Australia. 

Scroll down to learn more about each of these outputs.

JOURNAL PAPERS

Kuehne, G., Llewellyn, R., Pannell, D.J., Wilkinson, R., Dolling, P., Ouzman, J. and Ewing, M. (2017). Predicting farmer uptake of new agricultural practices: a tool for research, extension and policy, Agricultural Systems 156, 115-125. 

Kuehne, G., Nicholson, C., Robertson, M., Llewellyn, R., and McDonald, C. (2012). Engaging project proponents in R&D evaluation using bio-economic and socio-economic tools, Agricultural Systems 108: 94-103.

CONFERENCE PAPER

Kuehne, G., Llewellyn, R.S., Pannell, D.J., Wilkinson, R., Dolling, P. and Ewing, M.A. (2011). ADOPT: a tool for predicting adoption of agricultural innovations, Paper presented at the 55th Annual Conference of the Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, Melbourne, 8-11 February 2011.

REVIEW PAPER

Pannell, D.J., Marshall, G.R., Barr, N., Curtis, A., Vanclay, F. and Wilkinson, R. (2006). Understanding and promoting adoption of conservation practices by rural landholders. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 46(11): 1407-1424.

Free access: http://www.publish.csiro.au/nid/72/paper/EA05037.htm.

BOOK

Pannell, D., & Vanclay, F. (2011). Changing Land Management: Adoption of New Practices by Rural Landholders. CSIRO Publishing.

“As an introduction into the numerous factors that can and perhaps should be considered when there is a need to change land management practices, this is an excellent source of information and ideas.”
— N.J. Glithero, Experimental Agriculture, Vol 48 (1), 2012

ADOPT

ADOPT (Adoption and Diffusion Outcome Prediction Tool) is a tool that provides a step-by-step approach to evaluating and predicting the likely level of adoption and diffusion of specific agricultural innovations. Predictions are made in response to the answers to a series of 22 questions, which the user responds to with a particular innovation and a particular target population of potential adopters in mind.

ADOPT is based on the insights from the material presented on this web site. The 22 questions cover issues relating to the innovation and the target population. In each case, the questions explore the relative advantage of the innovation and its trialability.

We have over 1,000 users applying ADOPT. The approximate breakdown of users is 50% government, 25% higher education, 25% business or individual, with around 25% of users outside Australia.  

READERSHIP

Students and academics in the agricultural extension, agricultural science, natural resource management, rural and environmental sociology, and social and human geography areas.

People working as Agricultural extension agents, Educators and trainers, Agricultural researchers and research managers, Policy advisors and managers in government, Private sector agronomists advising farmers, Non-government organisations and social researchers

PRESENTATIONS FROM THE EXPERTS

The following presentations are from Understanding Practice Change by Farmers - A National Symposium, hosted in Melbourne on 14th November, 2008. The event attracted around 400 participants, including delegates from the public sector, regional natural resource management bodies, private consultants, media, agricultural input suppliers, universities, CSIRO and students. 

The WA Symposium in Perth in the following year, 8th July, 2009 on Understanding Practice Change by Rural Landholders included several speakers from the original event, supplemented by a range of additional experts (see list of presenters and topics below).

ANDREW CAMPBELL

Setting the Scene: Introductory Perspectives

FRANK VANCLAY

Understanding extension and practice change over time

GRAHAM MARSHALL

What “community” means for farmer adoption of conservation practices: Some logic and evidence

ALLAN CURTIS

Property Turnover in Victoria: Trends and Implications for Natural Resource Management

DAVID PANNELL

Understanding Practice Change by Rural Landholders

GEOFF KAINE

Identifying Potential Adopters of an Agricultural Innovation

RICK LLEWELLYN

Identifying cogs in the adoption wheel: opportunities to target extension

ROGER WILKINSON

The Many Meanings of Adoption

DAVID PANNELL

Policy Perspectives on Rural Practice Change

NEIL BARR

Joining the Dots: Climate Change, Supply Chains, Rural Restructuring and Rural Practice Change

WA Symposium in Perth 8th July, 2009

There is vast research literature on this subject, but it is often under-utilised in practice. The aim of this symposium was to provide the key insights from past and current research and make them available in an understandable and useful form. The second aim was for some groups involved in encouraging rural practice change to present their insights based on practical experience.

SPEAKERS

  • Roger Wilkinson (Department of Primary Industries, Victoria) "The many meanings of adoption"

  • Rick Llewellyn (CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, South Australia) "Targeting extension effectively"

  • Romy Greiner (River Consulting, Queensland) "Motivations, risk perceptions and adoption of conservation practices by farmers"

  • David Pannell (University of WA) "Overview: Understanding and promoting adoption of new practices by rural landholders" and "Policy aspects of rural practice change"

  • Sally Marsh (University of WA) "Using incentive payments to promote rural practice change"

  • Frank D'Emden (Department of Agriculture and Food WA) "Adoption of conservation tillage"

  • Karen Barroga (University of WA) "Constraints on adoption of complex technologies"

  • Perry Dolling (Department of Agriculture and Food WA) "Constraints to the widespread adoption of lucerne in Western Australia"

  • Peter Sullivan (Avon Catchment Council), Justin Bellanger (South Coast NRM) and Rolan Deutekom (Northern Agricultural Catchments Council) "Regional NRM bodies’ experiences in pursuing farmer practice change"

  • Michael Robertson (CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems) "Multiple methods to understand practice change"

  • Kevin Goss (Future Farm Industries CRC) Chair and wrap-up session "Key points and implications"

SPONSORS

We are grateful to our sponsors who supported the above two symposiums:

  • Department of Primary Industries, Victoria

  • Landmark - an AWB company

  • Future Farm Industries CRC

  • University of Melbourne

  • University of Western Australia

  • Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation

Meet the team of experts

The information and resources on this Rural Practice Change webpage are from a set of core contributors who worked together in various groupings and on several initiatives and projects. 

  • Professor David Pannell's research includes the economics of land and water conservation; environmental policy; farmer adoption of conservation practices; risk; and economics of farming systems. He is author of 200 journal articles and book chapters, with awards for research in the USA, Australia, Canada and the UK, including the 2009 Eureka Prize for Interdisciplinary Research. He also produces regular "Pannell Discussions" on these issues.

    Contact: David.Pannell@uwa.edu.au

  • Dr Rick Llewellyn has a background in adoption of agricultural research and in cropping systems. His research aims to contribute to the development of strategies for sustainable farming in southern Australia.  His expertise is in adoption of agricultural technology; integrated weed management; farming systems and extension; precision agriculture.

    Contact: Rick.Llewellyn@csiro.au

  • Dr Neil Barr's research interests include social change in Australian agricultural communities, social change and impact assessment in irrigation communities, adoption of new technology for management of dryland salinity and soil health, community involvement and consultation in catchment management and social research methodologies both quantitative and qualitative.

  • Mr Andrew Campbell has been at the cutting edge of natural resource management in Australia for 25 years. He has played influential roles in research (notably as CEO of Land and Water Australia from 2000-2006), in policy as a senior executive in the Australian Government, and in extension with the Victorian Government.  Andrew was instrumental in the development of Landcare, working with Rick Farley from the National Farmers' Federation and Phillip Toyne from the Australian Conservation Foundation to develop the proposal to then Prime Minister Bob Hawke that catalysed the Decade of Landcare. He was Australia's first National Landcare Facilitator from 1989-92.

    Andrew’s family has been farming in western Victoria since the 1860s. 

  • Professor Allan Curtis' research interests include the policy and institutional arrangements supporting catchment management, understanding rural landholder adoption, watershed organisations, and the evaluation of natural resource management programs. Current projects relate to capacity building, dryland salinity, Landcare, river frontages and wetlands, farm forestry, aquaculture and provision of social data to underpin catchment management.

    Recent experience hasincluded work exploring adaptive management, triple bottom line reporting, public perceptions of risk in quarantine and aquaculture, preparing socio-economic profiles of catchment communities, and assessments of the socio-economic impact of changes in land use (forestry) and resource access (fishing, irrigation water).

    Allan has extensive experience with the range of quantitative and qualitative social research methods and is a leading practitioner of mail survey techniques. The evaluation framework he helped develop is currently being used by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry for the evaluation of the Australian Government's $120 million National Landcare Program.

    Web site: http://athene.riv.csu.edu.au/~acurtis/index.htm

  • Dr Geoff Kaine's fields of special competence include adoption of new technologies and practices by primary producers and market based instruments in natural resource policy.

  • Dr Graham Marshall’s early career was as an agricultural and resource economist with the New South Wales Department of Agriculture, mainly working on natural resource issues (eg, soil salinisation and waterlogging) that southern Murray-Darling Basin irrigators were addressing through industry-based programs.  His research interests now extend to ecological economics, institutional economics, and common property studies. His current work focuses on community-based natural resource management (NRM), particularly where cooperation from farmers is important.

    Contact: gmarshal@une.edu.au 

  • Professor Frank Vanclay's research interests include social impact assessment, social aspects of natural resource management, environmental management, farming and agriculture.

    Contact: frank.vanclay@rug.nl

  • Mr Roger Wilkinson's research interests include social change in rural areas, adoption of new technology, perceptions of risk, social aspects of biotechnology community involvement and consultation and scientific and local knowledge.

    Contact: roger.wilkinson@dpi.vic.gov.au

Left to right: Geoff Kaine, Rick Llewellyn, Neil Barr, Allan Curtis, Frank Vanclay, Andrew Campbell, Dave Pannell, Roger Wilkinson, Graham Marshall